I didn't take a picture this week... again. Sorry people, I'll be sure to take one next week as it's our last in the Biggest Loser Challenge.
I just wanted to update y'all cuz I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!
I lost FIVE WHOLE POUNDS this week!!!!!
I also got two new pairs of running shoes today... for FREE! It's definately a good day.
If you don't mind, I've got a small prayer request. My ankle has been giving me some trouble in the last week. Nothing serious, just a twinge of pain after running on the street. I'm training to do the Shamrock Run this Sunday and really, really need my ankle to be okay. Could you pray for that please?
I think the problem has been the shoes. I'm gonna pick up an ankle brace too just for good measure. I'll let you know how it goes. With pics of course!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
"Bust"
About a month ago I posted a blog about our planned trip to Ireland. Then a week after that I posted about having a really bad day. Well, I wasn't able to share details about it all until now because nothing was set in stone. Now it is... the hardest of stones.
We've had a big financial blow in the last month. We had no way of seeing it coming and were completely blindsided. It had to be taken care of immediately though and the only way of doing so was to use our Ireland money.
We've had to postpone our trip for yet another year. (We had planned on going last year, but felt it was more "responsible" to pay off a credit card.) It's incredibly disappointing, but sometimes that's the price we pay for being "grown-ups".
I spent that first day after recieving the bad news crying and being mad at the world, but I've moved on to acceptance.
We'll still get to go. And for that I'm thankful. (Really... I am!)
In fact it may be better because we won't have to plan our trip around a nephew being born. My sister and brother-in-law will be able to meet us there for a couple days and show us around Dublin. (They've already been there.) And who knows, maybe God is protecting us from a horrible plane crash where we end up stranded on an island inhabited by a polar bear, a smoke monster and Benjamin Linus! ; )
We will have a whole year to save even more money to play with in Ireland. Of course we have to recover what we've lost, but that won't be too hard.
I've learned that even though I've had to change my plans, I'm still a very blessed person. At least we had the option of taking care of this mess right away. It could have been really bad, but within a month, we're back to our normal lives. Well... as normal as we can be...
I am trying really hard to not be a total grump about life right now. I hope you understand if I sometimes post something that's a little grumpy. ; )
We've had a big financial blow in the last month. We had no way of seeing it coming and were completely blindsided. It had to be taken care of immediately though and the only way of doing so was to use our Ireland money.
We've had to postpone our trip for yet another year. (We had planned on going last year, but felt it was more "responsible" to pay off a credit card.) It's incredibly disappointing, but sometimes that's the price we pay for being "grown-ups".
I spent that first day after recieving the bad news crying and being mad at the world, but I've moved on to acceptance.
We'll still get to go. And for that I'm thankful. (Really... I am!)
In fact it may be better because we won't have to plan our trip around a nephew being born. My sister and brother-in-law will be able to meet us there for a couple days and show us around Dublin. (They've already been there.) And who knows, maybe God is protecting us from a horrible plane crash where we end up stranded on an island inhabited by a polar bear, a smoke monster and Benjamin Linus! ; )
We will have a whole year to save even more money to play with in Ireland. Of course we have to recover what we've lost, but that won't be too hard.
I've learned that even though I've had to change my plans, I'm still a very blessed person. At least we had the option of taking care of this mess right away. It could have been really bad, but within a month, we're back to our normal lives. Well... as normal as we can be...
I am trying really hard to not be a total grump about life right now. I hope you understand if I sometimes post something that's a little grumpy. ; )
Biggest Loser Update
I've been really, really busy lately and as a result my blog has fallen by the wayside. Sorry about that.
Here's a Biggest Loser update for you!
This picture was taken a couple weeks ago. I had lost nearly 3 pounds that week! WOO HOO! And I would like you to note that I'm wearing workout pants that I couldn't wear in public before because they were too tight. *squeal*
The nice thing about being sick is that you don't really feel like eating a whole lot. So even though I didn't actually go to the gym for four whole days, I still lost a couple pounds.
Unfortunately, my husband was sick the following weekend. And while he was convalescing I ate enough for the two of us and gained back that 3 pounds. I think something was up with my body that night though because upon weighing myself the very next morning I discovered that I weighed 6 pounds less than the previous night. *forehead smack* DOH!
I'm anxious to see what my new weight is this week. We've only got two more weeks left in this round. I'm down about 15 pounds since October and would like to take another 5-7 off before the end of this round.
Thankfully I've got the Shamrock Run to train for this week. Running on the street always helps with the weight loss!
Here's a Biggest Loser update for you!
This picture was taken a couple weeks ago. I had lost nearly 3 pounds that week! WOO HOO! And I would like you to note that I'm wearing workout pants that I couldn't wear in public before because they were too tight. *squeal*
The nice thing about being sick is that you don't really feel like eating a whole lot. So even though I didn't actually go to the gym for four whole days, I still lost a couple pounds.
Unfortunately, my husband was sick the following weekend. And while he was convalescing I ate enough for the two of us and gained back that 3 pounds. I think something was up with my body that night though because upon weighing myself the very next morning I discovered that I weighed 6 pounds less than the previous night. *forehead smack* DOH!
I'm anxious to see what my new weight is this week. We've only got two more weeks left in this round. I'm down about 15 pounds since October and would like to take another 5-7 off before the end of this round.
Thankfully I've got the Shamrock Run to train for this week. Running on the street always helps with the weight loss!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Sick and Tired
This weekend was beautiful in the Portland area. Highs in the 50's and sunny.
All over Facebook and blogland my friends were talking about their outdoor activities. They were all soakin' up that wonderful vitamin D that us pasty Northwesterners so often lack. I heard stories about running in the park, playing at the beach, snowboarding on the sunny mountain, riding bikes through beautiful scenic Oregon and riding just down the street for gelato. (Because you know, in Oregon 50 degrees means it's warm enough for gelato!)
You wanna know what I did all weekend? I know you're dying to know...
Well I did some running of my own... I ran a FEVER!!
That's right folks, I spent my entire beautiful, sunny, Portland weekend laid up on the couch sicker than I'd been in years. In fact, I can't remember the last time I was that sick. (You know you're really sick when you have no desire to check your Facebook!) My lovely son gave everyone strep throat. I've had lots of nasty things in my lifetime and this has to be in the top 5. (Also on the list: Pneumonia, and any sort of puking)You never really appreciate how well your body works until it doesn't work anymore. I can tell you that swallowing is a very important bodily function. I bet you don't know how many times you swallow during the course of the day. Well I do, because everytime I swallow I get this lovely stab of pain in the back of my reddened, swollen throat.
We stocked up on applesauce, soup, pudding, ice cream, popsicles and Jell-O. (Which is great for my diet. *rolls eyes*) As well as all sorts of medications, in both over-the-counter and perscription varieties.
We're on the mend. I think this will be our last day holed up in this house. (You can imagine the mess... UGH!) And now that we're getting better, it's supposed to snow this week. GEEZ!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Running It Off
Today was the day from hell. And I don't mean it was your normal bad day. I've had "Alexander" days before but this day was like an "Alexander" day to the tenth power. Not only did a million little things go wrong, but several HUGE things went really, REALLY wrong.
I spent the majority of my day going between being completely angry at everything to utterly overwhelmed with tears. (You should see the beauty that is my puffy, splotchy face right now.)
In the old days when I had a badish day I'd eat some ice cream or some french fries covered in cheese and topped with bacon. (Mmmm...) Then I'd hole myself up with my flute for hours of practice. Working out the kinks of whatever piece I was working on seemed to soothe my soul.
Unfortunately I'm not supposed to eat french fries right now. And since I seem to be too busy to take my flute out of it's case recently, that wasn't really an option either. So what are we left with?
Tonight's team workout.
Eric and I went to the gym an hour before our workout as usual. I was bound and determined to run that treadmill into the ground tonight. I didn't want to take my frustration out on my family any more than I already had so I figured the best thing to do was take it out on an inanimate object.
I ran so hard I was pouring sweat like I haven't done in a long time. My feet were hurting and my legs were crying out for mercy, but I ran right through it. It felt really good too!
Then came our team workout. I pushed myself really hard, even though I was so tired and hungry from my crazy running. It was worth it.
After a two hour long, really hard workout I feel much better about life. I still have to get up tomorrow and deal with all these issues, but I'm hoping I will sleep well tonight.
And the icing on my crap-flavored cake day is that I lost 3 pounds this week! That puts me up to 8 total since starting 3 weeks ago. If you'll recall, I lost 8 pounds total during our last round of BL. I'm on a ROLL baby!!!
I spent the majority of my day going between being completely angry at everything to utterly overwhelmed with tears. (You should see the beauty that is my puffy, splotchy face right now.)
In the old days when I had a badish day I'd eat some ice cream or some french fries covered in cheese and topped with bacon. (Mmmm...) Then I'd hole myself up with my flute for hours of practice. Working out the kinks of whatever piece I was working on seemed to soothe my soul.
Unfortunately I'm not supposed to eat french fries right now. And since I seem to be too busy to take my flute out of it's case recently, that wasn't really an option either. So what are we left with?
Tonight's team workout.
Eric and I went to the gym an hour before our workout as usual. I was bound and determined to run that treadmill into the ground tonight. I didn't want to take my frustration out on my family any more than I already had so I figured the best thing to do was take it out on an inanimate object.
I ran so hard I was pouring sweat like I haven't done in a long time. My feet were hurting and my legs were crying out for mercy, but I ran right through it. It felt really good too!
Then came our team workout. I pushed myself really hard, even though I was so tired and hungry from my crazy running. It was worth it.
After a two hour long, really hard workout I feel much better about life. I still have to get up tomorrow and deal with all these issues, but I'm hoping I will sleep well tonight.
And the icing on my crap-flavored cake day is that I lost 3 pounds this week! That puts me up to 8 total since starting 3 weeks ago. If you'll recall, I lost 8 pounds total during our last round of BL. I'm on a ROLL baby!!!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Ireland Or Bust
Have you ever wanted to go somewhere your whole life, but didn't really know why? Ironically, my husband and I both have always wanted to go to Ireland. We don't really have a good reason. We just decided that Ireland is the place we're going to take our celebratory (us turning 30 and 10th wedding anniversary) trip. People have asked me, "Why Ireland?" and I've discovered that I'm not really sure why.
We aren't travellers by nature. The farthest I've ever been away from home was Washington D.C. I've only ever been out of the country once and it was to Victoria, Canada on a choir trip in high school. And that was before you needed a passport to go to Canada! We like our little corner of the world, and while we would like to see other parts of this planet, it's just never been a huge priority.
There are plenty of things that scare me to death about travelling too. For one, not knowing the language. Imagine having to go to the bathroom and not being able to ask for directions to the nearest toilet! The money thing is confusing as well. I'd hate to pay way too much for something just because I don't understand the exchange rate properly.
The thing that frightens me the most is leaving the boys. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind spending time away from them, but Ireland is a long way away. The thought that keeps me up late at night is "What if something should happen to us and we don't make it home to them?". I shudder to think...
I'm not about to let these fears keep me from seeing things I've always wanted to see though. Therefore, I continue to read my travel books about Ireland and London (cuz we're going to stop there for a couple days. You know, since we're there). I'm learning all I can about what we should expect when we get there. Talking to people who have been there has turned out to be a fabulous way to learn too!
The more we save, plan and talk about our trip the more excited I get. I've learned about several places I want to see when we get to Ireland. Our little spending money jar has become quite heavy. I'm planning to bring back an Irish Flute. *grin* I'm sure Eric is looking for ways to get beer home!
We chose to not take a big tour. We're going to rent a car and drive ourselves where ever we want. The freedom is extremely enticing to me. I can't wait to see Ireland through my camera lens! Imagine the possibilities! I'm all giddy just thinking about it! Not only do I get to shoot Ireland, but I get to road trip in a foreign country for TWO WEEKS with my amazing hubby as company. How cool is that?
So, if you've been to Ireland or London and have suggestions about what we should or shouldn't see, I'll gladly listen. In the mean time, I'm going to bury my nose in a book about Ireland.
We aren't travellers by nature. The farthest I've ever been away from home was Washington D.C. I've only ever been out of the country once and it was to Victoria, Canada on a choir trip in high school. And that was before you needed a passport to go to Canada! We like our little corner of the world, and while we would like to see other parts of this planet, it's just never been a huge priority.
There are plenty of things that scare me to death about travelling too. For one, not knowing the language. Imagine having to go to the bathroom and not being able to ask for directions to the nearest toilet! The money thing is confusing as well. I'd hate to pay way too much for something just because I don't understand the exchange rate properly.
The thing that frightens me the most is leaving the boys. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind spending time away from them, but Ireland is a long way away. The thought that keeps me up late at night is "What if something should happen to us and we don't make it home to them?". I shudder to think...
I'm not about to let these fears keep me from seeing things I've always wanted to see though. Therefore, I continue to read my travel books about Ireland and London (cuz we're going to stop there for a couple days. You know, since we're there). I'm learning all I can about what we should expect when we get there. Talking to people who have been there has turned out to be a fabulous way to learn too!
The more we save, plan and talk about our trip the more excited I get. I've learned about several places I want to see when we get to Ireland. Our little spending money jar has become quite heavy. I'm planning to bring back an Irish Flute. *grin* I'm sure Eric is looking for ways to get beer home!
We chose to not take a big tour. We're going to rent a car and drive ourselves where ever we want. The freedom is extremely enticing to me. I can't wait to see Ireland through my camera lens! Imagine the possibilities! I'm all giddy just thinking about it! Not only do I get to shoot Ireland, but I get to road trip in a foreign country for TWO WEEKS with my amazing hubby as company. How cool is that?
So, if you've been to Ireland or London and have suggestions about what we should or shouldn't see, I'll gladly listen. In the mean time, I'm going to bury my nose in a book about Ireland.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Feelin' Great!
This time a week ago I was feeling pretty down. Even though I had been going to the gym, it wasn't consistent and I wasn't pushing myself very hard. I was having a hard time sleeping and I was just down mentally and spiritually.
After only one week of working out everyday (sometimes twice in a day), eating healthy food (with the exception of a bag of M&M's and a stiff drink one night) and doing my bible study I feel like a completely different person! I'm sleeping better and I have way more energy to do what needs to be done.
We weighed in tonight and I lost two whole pounds! I have to admit I'm a little disappointed because I worked SO hard and only lost two pounds, but I'll take what I can get. I have to keep reminding myself that it's the INCHES that matter, NOT the pounds.
I've gotten several comments over the last few days about how I look like I'm losing weight. That is WAY encouraging! People who didn't even know that I'm doing this Biggest Loser thing are noticing the changes. My clothes are getting loose enough that I will have to go shopping very soon for new pants. (Oh darn!)
I'm way more encouraged this time around than I was last time. It's so much fun to be doing this with my husband and sister! They keep me really accountable and add a really fun level of competition. I really appreciate everyone else's comments too, so thanks for your support y'all!
Here's this week's picture.
After only one week of working out everyday (sometimes twice in a day), eating healthy food (with the exception of a bag of M&M's and a stiff drink one night) and doing my bible study I feel like a completely different person! I'm sleeping better and I have way more energy to do what needs to be done.
We weighed in tonight and I lost two whole pounds! I have to admit I'm a little disappointed because I worked SO hard and only lost two pounds, but I'll take what I can get. I have to keep reminding myself that it's the INCHES that matter, NOT the pounds.
I've gotten several comments over the last few days about how I look like I'm losing weight. That is WAY encouraging! People who didn't even know that I'm doing this Biggest Loser thing are noticing the changes. My clothes are getting loose enough that I will have to go shopping very soon for new pants. (Oh darn!)
I'm way more encouraged this time around than I was last time. It's so much fun to be doing this with my husband and sister! They keep me really accountable and add a really fun level of competition. I really appreciate everyone else's comments too, so thanks for your support y'all!
Here's this week's picture.
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